Umbrella-mender.



No. 856,664. PATENTED JUNE 11, 1907. F. STELTER.

UMBRELLA MENDER.

APPLICATION FILED 00122. 1900.

In! H- FRANCIS STELTER, OF ASTORIA, NEW YORK.

UMBRELLA-HENDER- Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 11, 1907.

Application filed October 2,1906. Serial No. 337,114.

To all whom, it TIL/0!] concern:

Be it known that I, FRANoIs STELTER, a citizen of the United States,residing at Astoria, Queens county, State of New York, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Umbrella-Nienders, of which thefollowing is a specification.

Hy invention relates to umbrella menders, and has for its object toprovide a simple, cheap, and effective means which can be quicklyapplied in mending umbrellas, more particularly where one or more ribsor s'tretch ers are broken, and to these ends my invention consists in adevice embodying the general features of construction, arranged andoperating substantially as more particularly hereinafter set forth.

Referring to the accompanying drawings Figure 1 is a vertical sectionalview of a portion of an umbrella showing one way of applying the menderthereto; Fig. 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the mender proper; Fig.3 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 4 is a side part sectional view of amodification; Fig. 5 is a plan view thereof; Fig. 6 is a plan View ofanother modification; Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing anothermodification.

In the ordinary construction. of umbrellas, the various ribs to whichthe covering of cloth is attached are generally fastened to a ring orannulus supported on the handle or stick by means of a wire passingthrough eyelets formed in the ends of the ribs, and owing to theliability to rust and the inherent weakness of the parts, it oftenhappens that one or more ribs of the umbrella become broken or detachedfrom the ring or annulus, and the result is that such broken rib isliable to be forced through the cloth or cover in operating or using theumbrella. So too, sometimes the stretchers which are similarly pivotedto a ring or annulus, usually slidable on the stick or handle, arebroken in the same Way, and other similar accidents occur, which Whilesmall in themselves, render the um brella practically useless for thetime being.

Heretofore it has been common to repair the umbrella under suchconditions by replacing the broken rib or stretcher by a new one, whichis a somewhat tedious and troublesome Way, and requires the use of a newpart substantially like the broken p art, which is often not at hand.

The object of my present invention is to provide an inexpensive umbrellamender which may be applied to any umbrella of any make in a very shorttime, and which will be strong and indestructible and which willaccomplish the results desired in a substantial manner.

Broadly speaking, my umbrella mender may be said to comprise areceptacle or socket piece which is adapted to receive and hold thebroken rib or stretcher, a fastener by which the socket piece can beattached to the umbrella handle adjacent and in addition to the usualannulus and connections between the socket piece and fastener. Thesocket piece may be in many and various forms and shapes, adapted to.receive the broken portion of the rib or stretcher, and the fastenermay also be of many and various shapes or forms and of differentmaterials, it being desirable that it can be quickly and easily appliedto the handle or stick of the umbrella and, of course, the connectionsbetween these two parts may vary accoriiling to the relativeconstruction of either or both of the parts.

l/Vhile I do not propose to illustrate all of the various embodiments ofthe invention that I have made, I will illustrate and describe severalforms, sullicicnt to enable those skilled inthe art to understand andutilize my invention.

Referring to the drawings, A represents a portion of the ordinary stickor handle of a conventional form of umbrella, to which stick is securedan annulus B and there is a sliding runner or annulus B to which aresecured the strctchers. As is common the ribs C are shown as attached tothe annulus B by a wire I) passing through eyelets or holes 0 in theends of the ribs, and the stretchers D are similarly secured to therunner B. If now, for any reason, one of the ribs as C is broken ordetached from the annulus B, either through the breaking of the eyeletor otherwise, I apply a socket piece E to the end of the broken rib orstretcher and this socket iece is connected in some proper way to afastener F which is adapted to be applied to the stick or handle inaddition and adjacent to the usual annulus, and in this way I accomplishthe mending of the umbrella.

The socket piece E is preferably made in the shape of a tube or cylinderadapted to receive the broken end of the rib, and in order that thesocket piece can be applied to ribs of various shapes and sizes it ispreferably slotted at one side, as best shown in Fig. 3.

It is desirable to make this of more or less flexible or spring-likematerial so that it can be better mounted upon the broken rib orstretcher and secured thereto with sufficient friction to preventdisplacement. The socket piece also is provided with some means by whichit may be connected to the fastener, and I have shown ears 0, madeintegral with the body of the socket piece and forming part of a hingejoint.

The fastener shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, is in the form of a slotted tubeF having a rib portion f formed by cutting away the body at either sidethereof, and this constitutes a hinge portion so that when the socketpiece and fastener are assembled and a pin p is inserted through theears and rib portion, a practical hinge connection is formed. Thisfastener being made of flexible or spring material can be applied to thestick and bent with the fingers so as to be properly mounted thereon.

In Figs. 4 and 5 I have illustrated a slightly different embodiment ofthe invention, wherein the socket piece E, as before, is applied to therib or stretcher and is hinged to the fastener and the fastener F itselfis made in two parts hinged together and secured, when in place, by anysuitable fastening device, as a projection f on one of the partsentering a hole or depression f 2 in the other part.

In Fig. 6, the fastener F is also made in two parts hinged together, andparts of the fastener are made of a curvature to substantially it thehandle, while other parts, as at f are bent outward to form hingeportions,

to which the socket piece E is attached. Each of these bent portions mayserve to receive a different socket piece E The parts of the fastenermay be secured together in any suitable manner, as by a projection andhole similar to those shown in Figs. 4 and 5.

In Fig. 7 the fastener F consists of a bent wire having a body portionadapted to fit the handle and the ends f being bent to form parts of ahinge joint. The socket piece E in this case is also formed of a bentwire adapted to receive the end of the rib or stretcher and being bentat e to form another portion of the hinge joint, the joint itself be ingconveniently made by a split ring R, which serves to unite the fastenerand socket piece.

These examples are deemed suflicient to fully explain the nature of myinvention, and to enable it to be embodied in various forms to adapt itfor various conditions in connection with which it is capable of beingused, and it will be seen that it furnishes an umbrella mender completein itself that is well adapted for the purposes intended.

What I claim is 1. An umbrella mender comprising a socket piece adaptedto be connected to a rib or stretcher and a fastener adapted to beapplied to the handle of an umbrella in addition to the usual annulus,and means for connecting the fastener and socket piece.

2. An umbrella mender comprising a socket piece of flexible materialadapted to be applied to a rib or stretcher, and a fastener connected tothe socket piece and adapted to be applied to the umbrella handle inaddition to the usual ring.

3. An umbrella mender comprising a cylindrical socket piece adapted toreceive the end of a rib or stretcher, a fastener adapted to be appliedto the handle in addition to the usual ring, and connections between thefastener and socket piece.

4. An umbrella mender comprising a socket piece, a hinged fasteneradapted to be applied to the umbrella handle in addition to the usualring, and connections between the fastener and socket piece.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

FRANCIS STELTER.

WVitnesses:

LENA STELTER, WM. T. MILLER.

